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The FermentedlyChallenged blog has been retired since the end of October 2016. It has been a great 9 year run. Thanks to all the readers and brewery staff for all your support in the past. I'm living in the Denver metro area and working in the Cable TV industry now. Cheers and enjoy beer responsibly. Follow along on social media - @ChipperDave on Twitter and on Facebook.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Cold winter nights were made for rich dark beers. This beer not only goes well during the winter, but can even substitute for coffee as a popular breakfast beverage on weekends. This brew is none other than Twisted Pine Big Shot Espresso Stout.

Twisted Pine makes Big Shot Espresso Stout as part of their year-round Timberline Series and is available in 22oz bomber bottles. Every bottle literally has a big shot of espresso built into it.

Like stouts but don't drink coffee? No problem. I don't drink coffee either, but after sampling this brew, I might just take up the beverage. Big Shot Espresso Stout weighed in at 6.0% and around 30 IBU's. It's brewed with Northern Brewer and East Kent Goldings hops. It's won several medals including a Silver at the 2008 GABF, Bronze at the 2010 GABF, and a Silver at the 2006 World Beer Cup.Appearance: As the majority of stouts do, Big Shot Espresso Stout poured nearly total black with just a trace of a dark mahogany around the edges of the glass. A huge, thick, frothy brown head grew in the glass and lasted a good long time. Once the thick foam calmed, swirling the glass gave rise to another nice finger tall lacy head.

Aroma: This beer has coffee written all over it. It reminded me instantly of walking into a coffee shop and smelling the rich roasted blends of coffee beans. I could pick up some chocolate, molasses and roasty malts in the nose as well. This is the kind of beer I could enjoy just with my nose alone, it's aroma is very inviting. It's almost as powerful smelling as a Russian Imperial Stout.

Taste: I was sure to let this beer warm up a bit from the fridge as many stouts like this tend to taste even better as they go along. This was one thick, chewy stout. It had all the flavors of coffee, roasted malts and a hint of molasses and chocolate. It was nicely bittered. The malts in this brew were not really sweet at all, yet balanced enough not to tip the bitterness scale.

This brew's flavor just filled my mouth completely. It coated my tongue and went down thick and smooth. A stout that I wouldn't mind having a full serving of.

Overall: I can see why Twisted Pine won medals for this beer. They found a great recipe in this espresso laced beverage. While I'm not the kind of guy who'd drink beer for breakfast, I could envision why some people might. The idea of pairing this with pancakes or waffles covered with syrup and washing it down with Big Shot Espresso Stout seems inviting.

I'll have to give an update later on whether the espresso in this brew was enough to keep me up at night. I believe the mix of alcohol and espresso are probably enough to cancel each other out.

Overall, this was a savory brew that I'd recommend to anyone who loves dark beer. Coffee or no, this is what a good stout should be. Nice job, Twisted Pine!

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